One of the first days on what seems now like our neverending Irish tour – I went swimming in the hotel pool.  And I got my left ear clogged with water.  This apparently is an unheard of condition in Ireland.  6 pharmacies later I was told that no one in Ireland has ever suffered from water in the ear- and that while the pharmacist had heard of the mythic remedy Swimmer’s Ear sold in america or canada or as he put it “aqua ear”  - they did not sell it.

I settled for a tiny bottle of ‘Medical Spirits’ which was also wicked hard to find.  The Irish don’t sell alcohol for anything but fun it seems.  But by then it was too late.

I’m not really sure what happened but my left ear has remained clogged for most of the trip.  And since my father is mostly deaf and my sister really soft spoken we are like a bad comedy routine.  also, I am the only one of the trio who can remember the days bus tour agenda and important departure times.  But since now I can’t hear them we are the deaf leading the dumb and dumber. 

The upside is, being deaf in one ear makes for much better nights sleep with two snoring family members in the room.  And my nightly self medication of two Guinness and roll me onto the bus in the morning seems to help.

Lots has gone on in trip.  All blending together.  Two more days til London.  do i really have to weigh in when I get back??  So tired.  Can’t write anymore.  Here some fun photos. 

 

This is me kissing the Blarney stone right before my birthday.  hope it brings a wonderful year.   Please donate to Bare Ass 2008! 

I am in Kilarney where after days on the bus and meeting nothing but Americans and Canadians since arriving in Ireland – I took advantage of the fact that for the first time we were staying at a downtown hotel and I went out last night for a preBirthday celebration. With a 23 year old Charlotte (pictured below) a fellow Tour Bus inmate and saw an amazing Irish Band that did covers of all the songs that were popular when I was in high school. And Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol a secret popmusic obsession of mine. 

And somehow I met the Irish version of my Exboyfriend (yeah not saying which one) so much so that it was spooky and sort of awesome at the same time.  IrishEx was shocked that I was 27.  He guessed 21.  But Charlotte had told him my ‘true age’  I find it ironic that she picked the age that I last went out dancing till the wee hours of the morning.  But as I sit here with the worst hangover of my life, my true true age has reared it’s ugly head.  I am 31, not 27, not 23 like Charlotte and definitely not 21. 

I stopped working out.  But will get up tomorrow and take advantage of the gym here in the morning.  Although since I’m pretty sure one could take a bath in the amount of whiskey I’ve had in the last few days, not sure how much that is going to help.  But it certainly does keep one fairly sane when sharing a room with two family members.  Although I have to say my Sister has the patience of a saint.  And the good sense to stop drinking before dangerous age reversal can arise. 

Although speaking of age rehearsal, after staying out too late.  Getting locked out of my hotel and other various debacules – I think I am grounded.  Which until my liver dries out is probably a good thing.

Yesterday I kissed the Blarney Stone (yes I know they pee on it and god knows what else) not a bad way to wrap up my 30th year on earth.  The Blarney Stone may or may not have been the only Irish thing that was kissed yesterday….

Happy Birthday to me.  My 20s are long gone but I’m excited for what is to come.  Life may not have been what I had thought it was going to be when I turned 30 last year.  But it sure the hell isn’t boring. 

 

I’m running out of time at the internet cafe I am at.  So I’m just going to beg.  It’s my birthday!! If you have ever thought about donating to BARE ASS 2008!! please CLICK HERE TO DONATE.  This is going to be a great year and I’ve got lots of ideas on how to raise my goal amount for America’s Second Harvest.  But if you have enjoyed my blog please give me the best birthday present ever by Donating and helping fight hunger.

I am in Ireland.  I am on no NO sleep because I am on an 11 day tour with my father and my sister.  Who both snore.  actually my father woke up in the middle of the night to yell at my sister for snoring and scared the crap out of me.   I would have gotten annoyed but the Pot, Kettle situation was too humorous. 

I started off the whole trip getting wildly drunk at my fake birthday, going away party.  and had a massive hangover while flyng internationally.  I do not recommend.  since then we have been to the Guinness brewery, the Jameson distillery (where I became an official whiskey taster have a certificate and everything) and to a show the Merry Ploughboys where we got free drinks and then they called me on stage to give me a prize for being the person with the least amount of rhythm in the place. 

Since I was one of the only people under 60 there (the theme of this whole tour) I prefer to think that it was because they wanted a cute WGWaFA on stage. 

I have been going to the gym every morning.  I know you are going to say but you are on vacation.  But A I need my ‘me’ time away from the family, B – I need to fit into these clothes for the next two weeks and with the amount of alcohol I’ve been sucking down every little bit helps, and C it really has given me the patience and energy to be stuck with 30 random humans day in and day out. 

So raise a glass!  Hi to all you new readers that I see on my status page.  My birthday is soon and as some of you may remember I my goal was to raise 1523 by my birthday.  This Friday May 23!  CLICK HERE TO DONATE 

Help me reach my goal.   And help support me in my effort to not drink myself into a blackout – which may be the only way I get a full nights sleep since I am bunking with the snore twins.  Gotta go now.  dad is yelling at me to use the computer.  sorry I didn’t check this post for typos.  I’m too drunk. 

In one week I will be 31, hence the 31 part of my goal of raising $5231 for Bare Ass 2008!  The other part being my birthday itself.  May 23rd.  I’m excited to be 31.  30 has really sucked the big one.  So I decided that this rough transition was necessary to be in my 30s.  To develop out of the insecure tweak I was in my 20s and move forward. 

This didn’t keep my from bursting into overtired tears last night as I watched LOST.  Forcing my roommate to listen to me blubber of my fond memories of watching the season finale last year on my birthday with friends and family.  Ane how life was so completely different from what I thought it would be then.  This outburst came from more than just my looming birthday.

This whole last week I have been slammed at work, barely sleeping finishing my script for class.  And due to all this, I stopped working out.  And because I always seem to cling to the illogical, since I wasn’t working out I started to eat crap.   Cut to the waterworks.  My quest has been more than just losing weight, but getting healthy.  Clearly I felt happier when I was eating right/working out.  Crying at LOST is a good sign that you are not taking care of yourself.  Crying at Battlestar Galactica simply means you are moved by the art of powerful storytelling.  And Cylons.  

When I was in high school I worked at an AMC theater and my boss, Mr. Charlie Stossel – I like to think he is the type of guy who would google his own name and maybe read this – told me once as I struggled with being an overweight teenager that I was having trouble now. But I was the kind of woman that when I was in my 30s, watch out.  

I thought of that when I turned 30, and a lot recently.  When I was in high school, the show Friends started airing.  I remember Virginia Gal was a particularly big fan.  While I never could have imagined the woman I turned out to be, that perhaps Mr. Stossel saw a glimpse of in my chubby teenage self.  I also never would have imagined that my life now mirrors the lyrics to the Friend’s theme song. 

My job is a joke.  I’m broke.  And my love life’s certainly D.O.A.  And yes, it hasn’t been my day, week or year.  And unlike the Friends, I don’t even have my Grandmother’s huge apartment to live in to make up for all this. but I do drink a lot of coffee.

The silver lining being, like the song, I do have good friends that are there for me.  Especially the friend I live with.   That and like Mr. Stossel predicted – I’m almost in my 30s and watch out!